LAUSR

The objective of the present investigation is to develop and study the thermal and rheological properties of the in-house developed flexible abrasive media. It is a mixer of viscoelastic polymer and plasticizer mixed with micro-abrasive particles, used for removing debris and irregularities present on internal and external complex surfaces used in the aerospace, automotive and medical industries. This paper presents, morphology of the developed abrasive media is captured using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), thermal properties of the abrasive media are studied using Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis along with tensile properties of the abrasive media ascertained using the universal testing machine. The rheological properties of the media play a major role in media flow over the intricate shapes and removing the material from the surface. To understand the media behavior, further rheological properties such as viscosity, shear stress, storage modulus, loss modulus, loss tangent, and complex viscosity are ascertained with varying shear rate and frequency at different temperature using rheometer. The TGA and DSC results shows abrasive media has good thermal stability and possibility of using the media for finishing process under lower temperature <100 °C. Rheological studies shows the shear thinning behaviour of the media and elastic solid behavior (G′ > G′′) at different temperatures which is suitable for finishing the complex internal and the external features efficiently and effectively. The developed abrasive media is used to finish the hydraulic components which are difficult to access with conventional tools and the results of finishing process are presented.